OPUC fined for oversight in power disconnections

By Courtney Bachar/The Oshawa Express/LJI Reporter

A total of 118 people had their power disconnected last May due to an oversight, says

OPUC President Ivano Labricciosa.

This oversight, which comes with a $20,000 penalty, was identified as part of a regulatory review, which occurred between May 1 and May 31, 2019, and was self-reported to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) for assessment after 780 discontinuation notices were sent out, of which 118 customers lost their power.

The OEB has accepted an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC) from Oshawa PUC Networks Inc. (OPUC) following an inspection into the company’s disconnection practices.

An AVC is a binding commitment by a regulated entity to take measures to rectify or prevent non-compliance. The OEB may take enforcement action if the terms of the AVC are not met.

OEB rules state every customer is entitled to a 10-day period to make payment after a disconnection notice has been issued.

Labricciosa says the service disconnection is the very last step in the 100-day collection process. These notices were hand delivered in the past and confusion arose when the OEB allowed these notices to be mailed rather than hand delivered. He notes the directive stated three days must be allowed for mailing, which OPUC staff had interpreted as three calendar days rather than three business days, due to a recent change in the wording.

“We pride ourselves on having a fair process in place for all customers and follow the regulations set out by the Ontario Energy Board. Oshawa Power deeply regrets the inconvenience that this has caused for our customers and has reimbursed all associated fees and service charges to those customers,” says Labricciosa, noting corrective measures have been put in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

According to the OEB, OPUC will also pay an administrative monetary penalty of $20,000.

“It is the OEB’s responsibility to protect consumers by ensuring that the companies that we regulate follow the rules,” says Brian Hewson, OEB’s vice-president of consumer protection and industry performance. “Customers may be harmed when the rules are not followed, particularly those governing disconnections. Consumers will be protected with the actions we have taken and with Oshawa PUC committing to make sure its internal practices are compliant.”

Labricciosa says each of the affected customers were identified and personally contacted.

“As a trusted community partner for over 130 years, Oshawa Power wanted to do the right thing for those in the community affected by this error,” he says.

The affected customers were refunded $30 as a gesture of goodwill and reimbursed for any reconnection fees that were charged to those accounts.

“Oshawa Power customers can be assured that this is not funded through rates,” says Susanna Beckstead, VP of finance, business and corporate services. “No ratepayer money is or will be used to pay either the penalty or refunded amounts.”